Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended his second and final day of meditation in Kanyakumari on Saturday after performing the ‘Surya Arghya’ during sunrise at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. Modi carried out ‘Surya Arghya,’ a ritual associated with spiritual practice involving salutations to the Almighty, manifested in the form of sun.
The PM poured water from a traditional, beaker-like small vessel into the sea as an offering (Arghya) and prayed using his prayer beads (Japa mala), they said. Modi was clad in saffron and also paid floral tributes to a statue of Swami Vivekananda, they added. He walked around the mandapam with his ‘japa mala’ in his hands.
The Prime Minister was on a spiritual sojourn from May 30 evening to June 1 evening, for nearly 45 hours. He meditated through day and night at the same place where Swami Vivekanand did meditation, at the Dhyan Mandapam.
Kanyakumari is famous for its sunrise and sunset and the memorial is located on a tiny islet near the shoreline.After arriving from nearby Thiruvananthapuram by helicopter on May 30, PM Modi worshipped at the Bhagavathi Amman temple and reached the rock memorial by a ferry service and started meditation.
This was the first time the Prime Minister stayed at the memorial, a monument built in tribute to Swami Vivekananda, who meditated over the rocks inside the sea towards the end of 1892.
It is important to note that PM Modi’s visit to Tamil Nadu is symbolic because he actively campaigned for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to woo voters and gain a foothold in South India. During his poll campaign speeches, the Prime Minister also promoted Tamil culture.